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21.5" or 27" iMac

L

langl3y

macrumors member
Original poster
May 31, 2014
42
18
I am looking to purchase an iMac fairly soon as want to move from windows.. I am not sure which screen resolution to go for due to space in my room!

Any opinions which people prefer?? shall be using it for the general everyday tasks but also doing a bit of gaming also.

Thanks
Lloyd
 
langl3y said:
I am looking to purchase an iMac fairly soon as want to move from windows.. I am not sure which screen resolution to go for due to space in my room!

Any opinions which people prefer?? shall be using it for the general everyday tasks but also doing a bit of gaming also.

Thanks
Lloyd
Click to expand...

how much space is on your desk W x L x H?
 
langl3y said:
Thanks for replying,

Dimensions:

Width: 76cm
Length: 158cm
Height (From the floor): 76cm
Click to expand...

Well, sounds like the 27 inch can fit your desk. You might want to look at both the 21 and 27 in the apple store to get a better idea and see which one is faster for your needs.
 
If you have the budget of course 27". Buy it and you will remember me !
 
thanks for the help, i think im just worrying about if i get it and find its to big for the desk then having the hassle of taking / sending it back!
 
Here is the iMac 27 inch dimensions. It's 65 (w) by 51.6 (h) centimeters

specs_size_27inch_imac_2x.jpg


Stand depth is 20.3 centimeters.
 
Last edited:
27" if you can afford it and have the space for it. I'm so glad I chose 27" the amount of work space is very helpful.
 
langl3y said:
I am looking to purchase an iMac fairly soon as want to move from windows.. I am not sure which screen resolution to go for due to space in my room!

Any opinions which people prefer?? shall be using it for the general everyday tasks but also doing a bit of gaming also.

Thanks
Lloyd
Click to expand...

You've gotten good advice here. Like TV's, buy the biggest you can afford and fit.
 
langl3y said:
I am looking to purchase an iMac fairly soon as want to move from windows.. I am not sure which screen resolution to go for due to space in my room!

Any opinions which people prefer?? shall be using it for the general everyday tasks but also doing a bit of gaming also.

Thanks
Lloyd
Click to expand...

I've got a mid 2011 21.5" that does me fine in a very confined space on an ordinary small computer desk. That said, a 27" would physically fit but I might be just that too close to it. Next time round though I'll borrow my daughter;'s recently purchased 27" and see how that sits.

Bear in mind also, if you want extra ram you can fit it yourself on the 27" but not on the current 21.5", it has to be specified at time of purchase and be pretty expensive compared to buying from say Crucial and fitting it yourself on the 27".
 
If you have the room on your desk (which it looks like you have) go for the 27 inch.

I'm so glad I choose the 27 inch. Having multiple windows open on the 27 inch gives you so much more space to have them positioned.

Another advantage of the 27 inch iMac is that the ram is user upgradable through a little access door on the back. It takes a few minutes to install extra ram in it. Whereas on the 21.5 inch, there is no access door for the user to add their ram.

You might not want or need to install more ram now, but you might in the future. Plus it's a lot cheaper to purchase your ram from somewhere like Crucial and install it yourself, than choosing to purchase your iMac with extra ram from Apple at the time of purchase.
 
Grab a 27 inch or a Mini with a Dell U2412M.
The 21 inch iMac is too sealed.
 
Hello. I have a 21.5" at home and a 27" at work. I've previously had a C2D 21.5 and a G5 20 and always thought 27 would be too big and silly but now that I've used the 27 I wouldn't go back. I'll replace the home 21.5 with a 27 next.

Reasons; multiple windows open (approx 2 A4 side by side) and better for gaming.
 
Budget wasn't an issue for me. I really like the 21.5". Which is why I bought a maxed-out 2013 21.5"

It's really really fast, and even though it has some of the fastest single-threaded performance its only 65watts
http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

My only gripe is I wish I could have gotten one of the top-end video cards from the 27" but ive been playing quite a few games on the 750m so can't really complain =D
 
tbolt11 said:
Budget wasn't an issue for me. I really like the 21.5". Which is why I bought a maxed-out 2013 21.5"

It's really really fast, and even though it has some of the fastest single-threaded performance its only 65watts
http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

My only gripe is I wish I could have gotten one of the top-end video cards from the 27" but ive been playing quite a few games on the 750m so can't really complain =D
Click to expand...

I am very happy with my 750m in my iMac when it comes to gaming too :)
 
I went from a 2010 iMac 21.1 to a new late 2012 27 inch iMac. Glad that i did. Their is so much more room on the screen and if you like to multitask you can use a great program called BetterSnapTool to better organize multiple windows.

I went through macmall and purchased THIS and added 16GB more of ram, putting me at 24GB. Machine is a beast and my wife and I are very happy with it!
 
My personal suggestion. If you can afford it, go for the 27".

I used to have 24" and now using the 27" ACD. The 27" definitely looks much better when gaming. But I never use the 21", can't comment on it.
 
h9826790 said:
My personal suggestion. If you can afford it, go for the 27".

I used to have 24" and now using the 27" ACD. The 27" definitely looks much better when gaming. But I never use the 21", can't comment on it.
Click to expand...

I love my 21.5" iMac (as I came from a 10 inch netbook). I haven't tried a 27" though.
 
My 27" iMac fits well on my desk, which is no deeper and just a bit wider than the OP's. I appreciate the extra screen space compared to my previous 24" iMac. But I agree with Ddyracer's suggestion to try both sizes at a store. And, as others have pointed out, the 21.5 and 27" models differ in other ways, including max memory, storage, and graphics.
 
I've been debating this issue with myself for a couple of months.

I've got a 24" iMac and I'm thinking of upgrading, but I'm worried the 27" will be too huge. My desk is only 22" deep and the 24" already feels a bit close, pushed right back to the edge. I'm going to have to move my head side to side to take in another three inches!

On the other hand, I've also got an old 20" white iMac and that feels cramped compared to the 24 incher - so I'm reluctant to downsize.

I aso don't like the wider aspect ratio of the new iMacs - I prefer the 16:10 'golden ratio'.... so I could end up hooking up the 21.5" to a second display.

Now, if Apple would just produce a Mac Mini with dedicated graphics there'd be no debate...
 
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